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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. court — of a king
  4. clip — to cut
  5. vault — a safe
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. key — for a lock
  8. bound — certain
  9. root — the cause
  10. content — happy
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. root — of a word
  13. key — in music
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bound — obliged
  16. court — of law
  17. court — for sport
  18. key — the most important part
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bound — tied together
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. root — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com